Catering Service Support Manager
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Catering Team at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust as a Catering Services Support Manager within the Estates, Facilities and PFI Services Division. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced catering professional with a passion for fresh food, quality service and team leadership to take the next step in their career within the NHS.
We are looking for someone with a strong background in fresh food production, high-volume catering and bulk batch cooking, ideally with experience working in complex catering environments such as healthcare, education, contract catering or hospitality.The successful candidate will be confident leading from the front, supporting teams across our sites to deliver safe, high-quality catering services to our patients, visitors and staff.
This role will suit someone who is a genuine food enthusiast, a “foodie” who enjoys new ideas, innovation and developing services, while also maintaining a strong understanding of food cost control, operational efficiency and team development.As part of a forward-thinking catering team, you will play an important role in helping to shape and improve our services.
Working within the NHS also offers an excellent work-life balance, alongside access to a wide range of benefits including the NHS Pension Scheme, generous annual leave, and opportunities for training, development and career progression.
Main duties of the job
The Catering Services Support Manager will support the operational management and delivery of catering services across the Trust, ensuring services are safe, efficient and delivered to the highest possible standards.This is a hands-on leadership role, requiring a visible presence within kitchens and catering operations.
Key responsibilities include:
- Supporting the day-to-day operational management of catering services across Trust sites.
- Providing strong leadership and support to catering teams, helping to maintain high standards of food quality and service delivery.
- Leading from the front within kitchen and food service environments and supporting operational service where required.
- Ensuring compliance with food safety legislation, HACCP procedures, infection control and health and safety standards.
- Supporting monitoring of service performance, audits and quality assurance processes.
- Assisting with workforce management including staff supervision, training, development and performance management.
- Monitoring food usage, stock control and supporting good financial management including food cost awareness.
- Contributing to service development, innovation and continuous improvement across catering operations.
The post holder will help ensure that catering services remain responsive, efficient and aligned with the Trust’s commitment to delivering excellent patient and staff experiences.
Working for our organisation
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust is one of the largest and most modern in the country. Based across two sites, Royal Stoke in Stoke-on-Trent and County Hospital in Stafford, we are proud to serve around three million people and we're highly regarded for our facilities, teaching and research.We are the specialist centre for major trauma for the North Midlands and North Wales.
All of our employees make a valuable contribution regardless of role here at UHNM and we are proud of our wide range of development packages aimed at ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their true potential.
UHNM create and encourage a culture of inclusion, providing equal opportunities for career development that are fair and transparent. We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer and foster a culture in which all staff feel valued and respected.In return we ask all of our employees to make a commitment to the values, co-created by or staff, patients and carers, and that unite us as a Trust.
At University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust we know that investing in, supporting and developing our staff has a direct impact on the quality of care that we deliver. Our employees are as important as our patients and the population that we serve.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Detailed job description and main responsibilities:
Please see the attached Job description and Person specification within the Job application for further information.
For further details please contact: - [email protected] to arrange a call
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria- Previous experience working within a multiple professional kitchens or food production environment.
- Strong understanding of fresh food preparation and catering service operations.
- Experience managing catering teams within a high-volume food service settings
- NVQ Level 3 Professional Cookery or equivalent.
- Advanced Food Safety Level 3 or 4
Skills
Essential criteria- Proficient in the use of Microsoft office: Word, Excel, access and Power-point
- Experience of cook-freeze or regeneration catering systems
- Experience within healthcare or large scale contract catering
- Educated to degree level.
- Management Qualification
- All correspondence will be sent to you via the email address you applied from. Please ensure you check your emails regularly.
- References - please ensure you provide email addresses for all referees for the last three years of employment.
- We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from everyone regardless of ethnicity, disability, gender, age, faith or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.
- Flexible working will be considered in line with Trust policies
- New recruits are required to pay for their Disclosure and Barring Service check (and admin fee) prior to starting if the role requires a DBS check.
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University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) has been awarded the Gold Award for proudly supporting those who serve. We actively encourage applications from the Armed Forces community.
We will communicate with you regarding your job application via email. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee the security of any emails sent/received via non encrypted format.
If you would like support completing an application form, please contact the recruitment department on 01782 675533 where one of our trained assistants will be able to help
At UHNM we are fortunate to receive a high volume of applications for many of our roles, on this occasion we would reserve the right to close any advert early, therefore please apply without delay!
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If you are currently in the UK on a visa, you must have at least six months remaining on your visa at the time of your start date to ensure sufficient time for the operational and training process associated with the role. The requirement of at least six months remaining on your visa does not apply to a Skilled Worker Visa, as a new Skilled Worker Visa would be required for a new role.
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